30 NCR, III MEF Tighten Naval Engineering Relationship

OKINAWA, Japan (NNS) -- The 30th Naval Construction Regiment (30NCR) and III Marine Expeditionary Forces (III MEF) established the Engineers Functional Working Group (EFWG) for the Indo-Pacific Theater, April 18.

The EFWG brings synchronization across logistical and operational objectives between the Naval Construction Force (NCF) and the U.S. Marine Corps engineers, collectively known as naval engineering.

"The EFWG will align our engineering forces to operate more seamlessly with the Marines throughout the Indo-Pacific region. It will strengthen our operational relationship today and prepare our forces to more effectively respond to any future contingency we may face in the theater," said Capt. Steve Stasick, 30NCR commodore.

Recent joint operational experiences, as well as the re-focus on threats in the Indo-Pacific Theater make clear the USMC and NFC relationship needs to be embraced and deliberately strengthened to counter common challenges requiring collaborative solutions.

“The charter will align training events, enable us to share resources and have representatives from multiple organizations at planning events for exercises and working groups,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jon Pilon, 30NCR assistant operations officer. “Instead of multiple naval organizations operating independently toward a common goal, we will combine our resources and work together rehearsing our relationship in peacetime so we can operate seamlessly in the event of future conflict.”

Objectives for the EFWG are to improve all aspects of NCF and USMC interoperability by anticipating, identifying and defining challenges and deficiencies, and developing and implementing innovative solutions. The EFWG will assess naval engineer capabilities and capacity to execute ongoing and anticipated naval engineer missions, and meet current and future demand for naval engineer forces to maintain forward presence and respond to crises and contingencies.

The Naval Construction Force Interoperability Working Group directed all MEFs and corresponding NCF units to establish an EFWG in November 2018. EFWG-Pacific specifically addresses the dynamic logistical and operational needs within Pacific Fleet Area of Responsibility, and coordinates and integrates engineer efforts between III MEF and Commander Task Force 75 (CTF 75), under which 30NCR coordinates naval construction in the 7th Fleet.

The NCF and USMC have a longstanding relationship that benefits both services. The NCF provides the USMC with engineering support necessary to accomplish its expeditionary mission, while the Marines have provided advocacy for the NCF and the logistical support it needs to fulfill its essential role in enabling Marine forces. Through this enduring relationship, they have amassed innumerable shared accomplishments during war and peace since the inception of the NCF in 1942.

III MEF provides the United States with a forward-deployed force in readiness in the Pacific Theater, as a globally responsive, expeditionary, and fully scalable Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF), capable of generating, deploying, and employing forces for crisis response, forward presence, major combat operations, and campaigns.

As Commander Task Group 75.5, 30NCR provides command and control over all naval construction force units in the 7th Fleet area of operations. 30NCR enables the real-time mobility of response for engineering units and other assigned forces to provide expeditionary, general and limited combat engineer capability to respond to major combat operations and contingencies, conduct Theater Security Cooperation Plan operations, and execute Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response (HA/DR) and Civil-Military Operations within the Pacific.